Thread: Locals test ocean for radiation in Santa Cruz

By Amy LarsonBIO

Locals test ocean for radiation in Santa Cruz

UPDATED 12:22 PM PDT Apr 07, 2014

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. —A 2011 earthquake in Japan destroyed the Fukushima nuclear power plant and sent a tsunami across the Pacific Ocean.

• ZERO THREAT OF FUKUSHIMA RADIATION AT CALIFORNIA BEACHES...

In the immediate aftermath, radiation from the Fukushima plant spilled into Japan's ocean and tsunami waves damaged the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor.

Three years later, some local environmental activists are alarmed that radiation could have traveled across the Pacific Ocean as well.

VIDEO: Watch the ocean radiation story here

Santa Cruz residents are currently helping private researchers test water and sand samples to determine what, if any, types of radiation exist along California's seashore.

Surfer Tyler Fox and several other volunteers collected ocean water samples at Pleasure Point by paddling out on surfboards with water jugs. The samples will be sent to a lab for testing at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.

State public health officials said their tests in January 2014 found no evidence of elevated ocean radiation levels along northern and central California.

"Even if there is nothing, even if it comes up that the water is totally safe, that would be great, that's what we want to hear. But I think people have the right to know," Fox said.

Scientists at Woods Hole have been studying how the ocean interacts with other parts of the planet, including human society, for nearly a century.

http://www.ksbw.com/news/central-cal...#ixzz2yEMMeSPh

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